


Howl

by Swetz



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Neighbors, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:34:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23120296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swetz/pseuds/Swetz
Summary: "I'm so sorry, whenever I'm nervous I howl.""Well, that explains....a lot."Deep down, he knew that day was going to be the start of something beautiful.Written originally for Gendrya Appreciation Week 2020 Day 2 : AU/Tropes.
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Comments: 28
Kudos: 76





	Howl

**Author's Note:**

> So....  
> I kinda struggled with this one, I'll admit. It has been lying around for a while, and I'm fed up of seeing it in my WIPs so... Here ya go.
> 
> No beta, all mistakes are mine own.

\----------------

When Gendry moved into his new flat at Stony Sept, he didn't really expect much. He was more or less a workaholic, and his flat was for three things primarily: sleeping, bathing and storage. 

And food, if he felt like cooking. But Hot Pie's wasn't far and his friend was always more than generous with leftovers. The flat was nice enough, fully furnished so he didn't have to worry about decorating,but just as sparse as he liked. And the best part was that it was far enough from the noisy city, and right beside the woods. 

But then he met Arya, his neighbour, and suddenly, his flat became much more than just a place to crash. 

The first time he saw her, she was walking her dog in on the edge of the woods. That is, if you could call it a dog. It was huge, and looked more like a wolf than a dog. 

A tiny woman walking her huge pet. Watching her made his mind go a little mushy, and he almost muttered 'adorable' under his breath, before shaking his head and reprimanding himself for being a creepy neighbour. That seemed to make her aware of his presence, and when she turned his way to gaze straight into his eyes, he almost felt a shiver run down his back.

There was something about her that made him feel…strange.

And then she howled.

Out of the blue, with no warning whatsoever.

Like a proper wolf howl. A HOWL howl. A very loud howl. And her wolf- ehh- dog followed suit too.

Watching it made him feel like an intruder to a private pet and owner bonding session, and he quickly fled the scene, but not without goosebumps.

* * *

  
  


The first time he talked to her, it wasn't exactly a nice chat. 

It was late evening, he had just parked his truck, when he decided to go check for mail in the common mail boxes downstairs, and encountered his pretty neighbour being hit on by a leering drunk man. His protective instincts immediately kicked in, and he thumped heavily on the man's shoulder, causing him to almost slump over. 

"Leave. Now!"

His glare caused the drunkard to wither like grass in a desert and the man quickly left, leaving behind only the faint smell of cheap liquor and an uneasy silence.

And when he turned around to check on his neighbour, he was met with a fierce glare, and bared teeth. It caused him to almost jump back; the woman before him looked positively feral.

"I could have taken care of him on my own!" she growled, and he held up his hands at her as if to defend himself, but something told him that he stood no chance against her. Her body looked primed to attack him, but within a few seconds, she relaxed, and he let out the breath he didn't even know he was holding.

She brushed an imaginary strand of hair out of her face, and held out her hand. 

"Uhh, hi. I'm Arya." 

They shook hands, and his fingertips tingled. 

"Hi... I'm Gendry."

Suddenly her eyes started to widen, and she blurted out,

"Uhh yeah nice to meet you, uhhh, I gotta go!" before running away.

He was left standing there, confused and shocked, and scratching on his head for a bit, when he heard strange howling sounds.

That she probably left her dog out was what crossed his mind immediately. But then he remembered her howling the first time he saw her, and felt the telltale prickliness of his hair standing up on the back of his neck.

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


For the next few times they met, it was just curt hellos and nods. But she intrigued him like nothing had before. He got a strange fluttering in his stomach every time he saw her, and could see her furiously glaring at him every time he blinked, even though she actually wasn't.

He wanted something from her. A sign, an indication, or maybe just approval. 

But he couldn't pinpoint anything, except that he hoped that one day, the invisible barrier between them would shatter.

  
  
  
  


It was just another morning, and he was walking down the stairs in a hurry, when he remembered he had forgotten his truck keys. Instead of going back up the stairs, he took the elevator, and when the doors opened, he saw a rather peculiar sight before him. 

Arya, sniffing into the gaps of the elevator door.

And when she saw him as the doors opened, she turned as red as a cherry, and began mumbling under her breath. 

"Uhh… sorry… you just...AWOOO!"

If he was closer to the edge of the stairs, he would have fallen off. 

Her head facing the ceiling, and her lips puckered up, she howled loud and clear, and extremely wolf-like. It was a bone-chilling sound if one heard it from an actual wolf, but here, it was just plain confusing.

Once she stopped howling, Arya immediately clamped her mouth shut with her palms, eyes wide open in shock. She turned redder than before, if it was even possible, and her eyes were darting around, most likely looking for ways to escape.

Gendry didn't know what to do. It was all really strange….. strangely hilarious.

So he smiled, and then, he laughed.

Laughed like he hadn't laughed in years. The wolf girl could kill him, he was sure, but he couldn't stop himself. And then she joined in. And the two of them just laughed and laughed and laughed, till they were doubled over, their bellies hurting with the exertion. 

"I'm so sorry, whenever I'm nervous, I...kinda...howl," she said finally, her ears still red from embarrassment. 

"Well, that explains....a lot."

Deep down, he knew that day was going to be the start of something beautiful.

  
  


* * *

  
  


The elevator incident led to their friendship growing at a fast-forward speed. He learnt that she was the self defence instructor at a local gym, and a part-time fencer. Gendry started to hang out with Arya and her pet (Nymeria, who was Arya's everything, according to her) during their morning walks, and they sometimes had dinner together (Arya was a great cook).

Hot Pie liked her too when he came over one day. 

"...so I told him that he gotta be mad to live so close to those cursed woods, but our Gendry's always been the stubborn sort. I swear I've heard of packs of wolves prowling about in there, but he won't-"

Arya's loud laughter cut him off.

"Hot Pie, I promise you, there are no wolves in there!"

Sometimes he caught her sniffing at him ("You smell different, a nice different though.") and sometimes she still got nervous and howled, like the one time when she woke up cuddled into his chest on his sofa. He didn't care for her peculiar behaviour though. He found it adorable.

He knew he was falling for her, his dark-haired spitfire neighbour, but he restrained his feelings. He didn't want to lead himself on with his one-sided affections. But when they sat on her balcony sharing their last can of beer, planning future grocery runs together, and pointing at the constellations in the sky, he couldn't help thinking about how perfect it all was. How perfect they were together. 

And it was on one such night that he revealed more than he ever thought he would. It was a dangerous truth, but she deserved to know it.

"Arya?"

"Hmm?"

"I …know who my father is. I'm sorry...I didn't tell you who he was earlier. He's dead now, so it doesn't matter anyways."

"Oh."

She didn't question him further, just placed a palm on his cheek, waiting for him to speak. He leaned into her touch almost instinctively.

"King Robert Baratheon was my father. I never knew him when he was alive, only found out after he died, that I was one of his by-blows."

Her eyes widened momentarily, and she looked away. 

He continued,

"Yeah, the same Robert Baratheon who became King by killing the Vampire Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, because he had stolen away his love, Lyanna Stark."

"Lyanna Stark was my aunt," she said, before hugging him close.

"Wait, what? Lyanna Stark was your aunt? Which means… you're Ned Stark's daughter?"

It shocked him. He never knew that she was _the_ Arya Stark. She was practically royalty!

"But it doesn't matter Gendry. It really doesn't matter. He's gone. My dad, your dad. They're all gone. We matter though, we do."

And when she held him tight in her arms, the beautiful girl he was slowly losing his heart to, maybe nothing else mattered.

* * *

  
  
  
  


Slowly, she became an almost common fixture in most of his daily routine. At first, she was going grocery shopping with him. Then she even went to work with him in the mornings, and he dropped her off at her stop before leaving for his office. 

And sometimes she met him during lunch hours, ranting on and on about how the world was just unfair. Everything made sense with her; everything just- clicked.

But then there were other odd things she did, like cancelling plans without warning. 

One Wednesday she cancelled on their lunch plan. She had been fidgety and pale when he had dropped her off to work that morning, so he thought he could surprise her with some nice soup from Hot Pie's. 

Holding a packed parcel in hand, he let himself into her flat. She was laying on the sofa, wearing nothing but a thin tank top and shorts, and he instinctively looked away from her visible nipples.

"I got soup for you, m'lady," he announced, and after placing the soup on the kitchen counter, walked closer to sit on the arm of her couch. He reached to pull her up to sit, but she surprised him by quickly jumping up to him, and placing her hands on his shoulders. 

Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes glowing, and she licked her lips, before biting her lower lip like she always did. One her hands moved up to caress his cheek, and the other massaged his scalp, before grabbing on a bunch of hair, and pushing his face closer to hers. Her forehead met his, and their breath mingled intimately. 

Gendry was losing his mind. Arya was going to kiss him. The Arya he adored, the one he had a crush on ever since he laid eyes on her, was going to kiss him.

And when she finally slammed her lips onto his, it was as if his brain completely shut off, and his body began to move on autopilot. 

She pulled him in, and pushed her arms to encircle his back, and they fell onto the couch, their kisses getting more and more heated. She almost tore off his T-shirt off him, and threw away her top to reveal her perfect breasts. They ground against each other wildly, and Gendry put one nipple in his mouth as he palmed another.

But Arya didn't want to play. She made quick work of their pants, before she almost leapt onto him as if to devour him whole. 

When she rode him hard and fast, both of them rutting against each other like wild animals in heat, all he could do was worship the glorious goddess on top him with her hair loose, her breasts swaying and her tongue licking a path up his pulse point.

* * *

  
  


He woke up to an empty house.

"Arya? Nymeria?"

He padded around looking for his clothes, but Arya and Nymeria were nowhere to be seen. He even tried calling her, but she had left her phone behind. As he began putting on his clothes, his mind started working on overdrive. He couldn't help but feel that she regretted whatever happened between them, and ran away rather than face him. The thought almost made his heart break.

But he couldn't give up so easily. Whatever they shared between them was beyond special. It was unlike anything he'd felt before. Just the thought of what he felt for her made him tremble. 

And when he heard a howl echoing through the woods, he knew just where he would find her. He quickly grabbed a jacket from his house, and rushed downstairs, and straight into the woods. He could hear the leaves rustling in the wind, and even though he was using the torch from his phone, there was barely enough light to guide him.

Suddenly, a large grey figure jumped out from behind the bushes, as yet another howl echoed through the forest. 

It was Nymeria, and she jumped straight at him, throwing him to the ground and grabbing the collar of the jacket.

"Nym- girl- what are- hey! Nymeria?!"

The large wolf-dog began dragging him along the forest floor at full speed, and despite being a large, strong and well-built man, he couldn't escape the clutches of her strong jaw and was dragged along the bumpy path, his jeans and his jacket tearing along the way. The friction on his dependent parts was burning through, and just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore, Nymeria let him go, and it was right behind the outer wall of their complex. As he stood, she began nudging him towards the wall. 

He did not understand what was happening. Why was Nymeria dragging him away? Why did she want him to climb up the wall? And most importantly, where was Arya?

Just then, a large shadowy figure crept out from the edge of the forests. It's deep brown fur was the first thing he noticed. Wolf, his brain supplied. But when he saw the large yellow eyes, the sharp teeth, and upright position of the creature, his body went rigid in fear.

It was no wolf. It was a werewolf.

A werewolf, a mere few feet away from him. Looking at him. And when he looked at Nymeria, and back the werewolf, it was as if he was struck by thunder. 

_("I'm so sorry, whenever I'm nervous I howl." )_

  
  


Arya was the werewolf, he realised. His Arya, his little spitfire neighbour. And he couldn't help but mumble out her name.

Just as he did so, the werewolf's eyes flashed grey, before turning back to yellow, and for a split second, he felt hopeful that she would recognise him. 

But then the animal let out a growl, and he realised he had to escape from there. That was what Nymeria was doing all that time. Nymeria was trying to save his life.

Using Nymeria's large body as a boost, he climbed up the wall, and when he realised he was now safe within the walls, he let out a large breath of relief, falling to his knees, and rubbing his eyes in disbelief.

Arya. The beautiful girl he was falling in love with. 

Wondering if the entire day was just a dream, he went back to his house, and straight to bed.

* * *

It had been days.

She was gone. Her house locked. Her phone switched off. No trace of her or Nymeria left behind, except the locked door and empty garage.

And it was killing him. 

He didn't know how to cope with her disappearance. It was a stinging that he felt with every beat of his heart, and her locked up door was the testament to their broken relationship. 

A relationship that he couldn't label.

But in his heart, he knew she was right. It didn't matter. Didn't matter that she was a werewolf, didn't matter that they had sex.

What mattered the most was that he missed her companionship, her smile; her presence in his life. She was irreplaceable. She was invaluable. It was almost like… she was his family. 

And she was gone.

* * *

  
  
  


And just like that, one day, she was back. 

In fact, he found himself woken up by her instead of his alarm, and there she was, right beside his bed.

He was still not sure if it was really her, and he stretched as she propped herself on the edge of the mattress.

"Mmmmmm…. Is it really you?"

He was still sleepy, his eyes barely open, but when she reached out to touch his face, his body immediately snapped up to alert. He grabbed her extended hand at the wrist, and pulled it to the sides to meet her eyes. He just had one question.

"Why?"

She looked at her feet, and fiddled with her fingers, 

"I…. I was scared."

"You aren't howling now. You do that when you're nervous, right?"

When she looked up at him with her grey eyes, he couldn't look away. They were like magnets, drawing him closer.

"That isn't true."

"Wait, what?"

"That isn't true. I don't howl when I'm nervous."

That left him confused. Why did she howl then? Apart from her being a werewolf of course.

"That explains nothing."

Her hand slowly crept up to his, and slowly, apprehensively, she held his hand in both of hers.

"I howl when I'm with you. It's because of you. It's because… you.. you're my mate. I knew it the very moment I saw you."

And then she kissed his hand, before saying,

"And wolves mate for life."

At first, he couldn't think, and then, it was like a huge weight had left his heart. The clarity he had been searching for, the fog had finally cleared. 

"Really?"

"Yes. And I'm sorry, I didn't want to burden you, but I was in heat, and I just jumped you, and I'm so sorry, I'm so-"

He held her firmly by the shoulders, 

"Arya."

"Gendry... I'm a werewolf. I don't think you understand what life with a werewolf is like... it's hard, it's painful. I'm terribly moody sometimes and - I don't know, I don't want to ruin your life."

Gendry smiled. 

"Stupid, I already had a life with you. And I want to continue spending this life with you."

He placed his palms on her cheeks,

"It's you for me. You're my mate. You're mine. Nothing else matters."

When he placed his lips on hers, it was like a new first kiss between them, just pure love and affection, slow and tender, like they had all the time in the world.

They kissed for what seemed like an eternity, and when they parted, all Arya could say was,

"Nothing else matters."

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I'm @ginnygirl99-swetz on Tumblr if you wanna talk about anything and everything, primarily Gendrya, B99, Hinny, medical stuff, feminism or anything else really. I love a good conversation!
> 
> Have a great day!


End file.
